Selected Types of Infrastructure in the Czech Republic: A Regional Perspective

Transport, social as well as some other types of infrastructure represent an important component of system macrostructures. In advanced countries, these system macrostructures are usually – though not necessarily – approximately bound to the existing settlement system. There are only little doubts that the role of infrastructure in local and/or regional development is an indispensable one. Activities of local and/or regional actors can be substantially facilitated or hampered by existing spatial distribution of infrastructure. The same – with even higher intensity – applies to also to post-transition countries among which the Czech Republic can be ranked. Thus, the main objective of this article consists in the analysis and interpretation of the quality and distribution of selected transport, education, research, health, technical and information infrastructure in the Czech Republic. Modern approaches to territorial development typically consider the relative harmony between spatial distribution of population and corresponding infrastructure as guaranteed. This may be the case of leading advanced nations, however less frequently it applies to their post-transition counterparts. Subsequently, the article attempts to disclose both strengths and weaknesses of the spatial profile of infrastructure in the Czech Republic. Spatial analysis of infrastructure in this country will be pragmatically conducted at NUTS III level covering self-governing regions. Selection of indicators as well as territorial scale has been influenced also by qualitative and quantitative limitations still existing in the Czech regional statistics. Key Words: infrastructure, NUTS III regions, settlement system, regional development, Czech Republic JEL Codes: R10, R40, H54, O18